The hotel occupies a convenient location in the downtown
area, near other hotels (including Marriott Chatham Center, Omni William Penn, and
Kimpton Monaco), restaurants, and the Steel Plaza T-stop (subway). The “T”
offers complimentary transportation every 20+ minutes to several different
downtown areas, including the North Shore (for access to the baseball and
football stadiums, Carnegie Science Center, and Rivers Casino), and Station
Square (for dining, shopping, and entertainment, although those amenities exist
in the downtown area itself). It also provides access to areas outside of
downtown, although you pay based on the zone to which you travel. The hotel
provides a complimentary shuttle bus within a certain mile radius of downtown.
Guests have two parking options: valet for $22 per day (with
an additional fee charged if you claim your car after 1:00 pm; for example, if
you are attending an afternoon sporting event), or a public garage beneath the
USX Steel Tower opposite the hotel. On our previous stays, we used the valet,
but this time, we used the USX garage, which we thought would save money;
however, because it was an event weekend, that savings was small. In addition, it
was inconvenient because most of the spaces in the garage are marked as
reserved, and also because we had to use an elevator to exit the garage via the
USX lobby, then pass through their outdoor plaza, walk around the corner, cross
a busy street, and climb a small hill to reach the Doubletree. As much as we
like to save a few bucks, the hassles outweighed the extra cost for using the Doubletree’s
valet parking.
This hotel features typical Hilton Doubletree amenities such
as a warm chocolate chip cookie on arrival and other perks for Hilton HHonors
membership such as free breakfast and free Wi-Fi. The hotel has a fitness
center, indoor pool, business center (with several computers and a printer),
floral shop, 7-11 convenience store, and the hotel restaurant and bar called
the Bigelow Grill. The Bigelow Grill offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with
both indoor and seasonal outdoor seating, although the outdoor seating is
adjacent to the smoking area and may be bothersome to some guests. The hotel
has meeting and conference room space. Ice machines and vending machines are
located on specific floors. No club/executive floor exists in this hotel,
although two floors are designated for Hilton HHonors guests.
We reserved a 1-bedroom king suite (the hotel also has 2-
and 3-bedroom suites, some with additional bathrooms). The cavernous living
room contained a pull-out sofa bed, comfortable chair, two glass side tables,
two leather cube ottomans (that with the dual function of coffee table), flat-screen
TV (on a stand that held the empty mini-refrigerator and some drawer space),
desk and chair, and vanity area that held the coffee maker. The bedroom (which
can be closed with a privacy door) contained a king-size bed, second
flat-screen TV on a dresser/stand, two nightstands, and small chair. The
bathroom was small with bathtub/shower combination, pedestal sink, and toilet. The
closet contained a luggage rack, iron and ironing board, and electronic safe.
(The hotel does not provide robes or slippers.) Both the living room and the
bedroom contained a wall of several windows, with both blackout shades and
light-filtering blinds; the shades only raise halfway, though, so your view is
obscured. Overall, the room was a great size, and we always appreciate the
extra space that a suite affords us; however, the hotel could make the living
room area more visually appealing and inviting by “floating” the furniture
rather than lining it up against the three walls.
We would stay at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel & Suites
Pittsburgh Downtown again the next time we visit the downtown area.
